The Times, Saturday, Feb 03, 1866; pg. 10; Issue 25412; col F THE LOSS OF THE LONDON. ----------------------- OFFICIAL INQUIRY. The inquiry directed by the Board of Trade into the circumstances under which the London foundered in the Bay of Biscay on the 11th ult. was resumed in the Greenwich Police-court yesterday, before Mr. TRAILL, the Police Magistrate, and Captain H. HARRIS and Captain BAKER, nautical assessors. As on the previous days of the inquiry, Mr. O'DOWD appeared for the Board of Trade. Mr. Clifford WIGRAM, one of the owners of the ship, was also present; and Mr. BURRELL, solicitor, of Glasgow, who lost a son in the London, was in attendance on his own behalf and that of Mrs. TENNENT, of Edinburgh, who lost her husband. The witnesses examined yesterday were Mr. JONES and Mr. GREENHILL, the first and second engineers of the London. Their evidence is of great importance, particularly that of Mr. GREENHILL. It was during his watch the tremendous sea broke over the vessel which swept away the engine skylight, carried two men bodily down the hatchway, instantaneously filled the engine-room with water to a depth of 5ft., almost as suddenly extinguished the whole of the boiler furnaces, and stopped the engines within seven or eight minutes. It will be found that one of the nautical assessors anxiously inquired as to whether the door in the bulkhead separating the engine-room from the screw tunnel was shut by the engineers immediately the heavy sea had descended into the former. Both the witnesses stated that it was, and one of them said that he himself had closed it and screwed it tight. This is a point of great moment. The tunnel is some 65ft. or 66ft. long, 8ft. deep, and 4ft. wide; and if filled, the presence in the after part of the ship of such an immense volume of water as the tunnel would contain would go far to account for her settling down by the stern. It will be seen that by four o'clock in the morning of the day on which she sank the water was 14ft. deep in the engine room, and that by 1 p.m., about an hour before she went down, it had risen to 19ft. GREENHILL was much affected while detailing his last interview with Captain MARTIN, in which the latter directed him to take to the boat, and, replying to the question as to the course the boat's crew should steer, cried out "N.N.E., 80 miles to Brest." Four minutes afterwards the ship, with its heroic commander and 219 other souls sank, and not a vestige of the London remained to be seen on the surface of the waves. On Monday, in examining witnesses, Captain HARRIS asked whether the shutters on the skylights of the engine room hatchway in ships of war were used to prevent the men from "going down" when the ship was cleared for action. In consequence of some misapprehension in the minds of naval officers as to his meaning, Captain HARRIS wishes it to be understood that he used the words "going down" in the sense of "falling down." At the sitting of the Court yesterday, Mr. John JONES was examined, and said he held a certificate of competency from the Board of Trade as first engineer. He was chief engineer of the London on her last voyage. He had not previously acted as engineer in that vessel. The ship left London on the 28th of December. On the passage from London to Plymouth the machinery acted without giving those in charge of it the slightest trouble. Mr. GREENHILL was the second engineer, and there was a third engineer on board. There were also a leading stoker, storekeeper, six firemen, and three coal-trimmers in the engine-room. The fires were lighted when the London left the East India Dock, though she was towed by a steam tug. The engines of the ship were going slowly - about 30 revolutions a minute, on the way down to Gravesend. When the weather became rough off Dungenness the engines were working well, the speed being about six knots. A log was kept in the engine-room, but it is lost. Nothing particular happened in his department between London and Plymouth, nor while the ship was at the latter port. They had five or six tons of coal on board when they arrived at Plymouth, on the morning of the 5th of January. There they replaced the coal which they had consumed on the passage down from London. The coal put in at Plymouth was stowed round the engine-room hatch and the steam chest. He should think that they had not 20 tons on the deck when they met with their misfortune. This was on the 11th of January, the ship having left Plymouth on the morning of the 6th, or just after midnight of the 5th. In the storm he saw some of the coals washing about the deck. This was towards the last. He saw none washed down below, but he observed lumps rolling about as the vessel shipped seas. It had broken loose from the sacks. He did not see any thrown overboard after it had broken loose. Before the vessel shipped the big or disastrous sea he was thrown against the lee scuppers and his shoulder was injured. On leaving the breakwater at Plymouth the ship proceeded at about 8 knots an hour. The weather was then very mild, and continued so during the whole of the day. It freshened at from 6 to 7 in the evening, but nothing to speak of. It continued to freshen on the 7th. It was not to say squally, but the wind and sea increased. He could not say positively, but he thought she kept her course by steam on the 7th. Up to that day she had not made any water that he was aware of. Early on the 8th the wind had increased to almost a gale; and about 8 a.m. the engineers received orders from the captain to stop the engines, lift the screw, and put the fires out. The weather continued the same till about 5 in the evening, when it moderated. Steam was then got up again. About midnight of the same day the wind began to increase, and continued increasing up to the time the ship went down. Indeed, he did not think there had been any lull at all during that interval. He thought one of the lifeboats was carried away on the morning of the 9th, but he did not see the occurrence. They were steaming all this time. He went on deck that day, and saw the foretopmast, the topgallantmast, and the royalmast hanging down. He did not go far enough forward to see the jibboom. He did not see the spars secured that day, but he believed they were secured the next day. At the time he went on deck the ship was steaming with her head to the wind. On the 10th he observed that the spars were secured. They were lashed round the stump of the foremast. While the ship's head was to the sea on the 9th she was not shipping much water. The engine-room was quite free of water. The engines worked well up to 3 a.m. on the morning of the 10th. At that time the captain ordered Mr. GREENHILL, the second engineer, to go at full speed. Witness did not hear the order given, because he was not in the engine-room at the time. It was then Mr. GREENHILL's watch. At half-past 4 a.m. witness went into the engine-room and commenced his watch, which continued till half-past 8. The engines were going at full speed during the whole of that watch. The second engineer relieved him at half-past 8, and he did not go on duty again till half-past four in the afternoon; the division of his time was four hours on and eight hours off. It was blowing a complete gale of wind when he went off watch at half-past 8. To his knowledge nothing material happened between half-past 8 and half-past 4. At the latter hour he found everything right in the engine-room, and the engines were going at full speed. No casualty occurred during his next watch - from half-past 4 till half-past 8 p.m., when he was again relieved by the second engineer, and went into his cabin, where he remained till the big sea came at half-past 10, and washed away the skylight of the engine-room. He came from his berth directly, and went down into the engine-room, where he found the second engineer standing by the engines. The engine-room was then flooding, and a body of water was coming down through the hatchway. He ran up on deck again and found that the whole of the skylight hatch was gone. Captain HARRIS asked whether it was unshipped or broken to pieces. Mr. JONES replied that he could not tell. He saw the aperture and found that the hatchway was gone. He returned to the engine-room at once. The water had come right down over the engine-room and flowed into the stoke-hole. When he went down the second time he found that the fires were entirely out. Mr. TRAILL inquired whether they were out when he went down the first time after leaving his cabin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Day 5 of the inquiry to continue..... Petra